Third baseman Evan Longoria and outfielder B.J. Upton had to be separated in the Rays’ dugout Sunday after Longoria got in Upton’s face for failing to hustle after a ball that was hit to the Tropicana Field wall in the fifth inning.

The would-be double turned into a triple for D’Backs first baseman Rusty Ryal and was followed by a Gerrardo Parra two-run homer.

Upton was clearly at fault, but presumably had a problem with Longoria calling him out in front of the rest of the team, including manager Joe Maddon.

The Rays have been in a bit of a funk lately and have dropped five of their last seven games to National League clubs. Sunday’s incident in the dugout looked ugly, but can probably be chalked up as a heat-of-the-battle type moment, borne out of the frustration of losing to perfectly beatable teams.

I thought Upton was trying to bury this image, but this is certainly not the first time he has dogged it in his Rays career. He was removed in the middle of a game last year for something very similar. Whether he hustles or not is a matter of great debate here in Tampa the last few years, his defenders saying Upton is so “graceful” and “like a deer” his running looks effortless, while others say he looks like he doesn’t really give his all. Other than his spectacular stretch in the ’08 playoffs, he really hasn’t done much, certainly not what he was and has been billed up to be. Supposed to be a 5 tool player, but he has a lousy average, little power, and now doesn’t hustle, which negates his speed.